


In the Pursuit of...

by JuniperLeo



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: English Premier League, Football | Soccer, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun, Nakamoto Yuta is Whipped, Slow Build, dance instructor Winwin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-20 18:38:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17027907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuniperLeo/pseuds/JuniperLeo
Summary: Nakamoto Yuta was on the brink of achieving all of his dreams, his life was going perfectly until one day when he met Dong Sicheng, and suddenly he had one more thing to dream about.





	1. In the pursuit of happiness

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, so one thing that I'd like to start off with is by saying that this story talks a lot of the Premier League and the Belgium First Division A League, I am from Belgium and am huge fans of both leagues and am a huge fan of Manchester City, which is why it'll be mentioned so much. Also this story mentions some famous Belgian soccer players and any other soccer fans should be able to easily recognize them. Last but not least, English is not my first language so please keep that in mind and please let me know if you see any mistakes in grammar or spelling so I can work to improve in the future! Anyway, I really hope you enjoy (:

Yuta sighed as he looked around the locker room, his teammates were all getting changed and leaving to go get a cool down massage. Yuta knew that as good as a massage sounded right now it would have to wait, team starters and the first round substitutes always got massaged first after a long practice. Looking around the extravagant locker room and the players he was here with Yuta still couldn’t believe it. Yuta still couldn’t believe he was a player in the Premier League, even if he wasn’t a starter, he was still here and he still practiced with some of the best players in the world. Yuta didn’t think it would ever make sense to him, a boy like him getting signed on to play for Manchester City, one of the best clubs in the world, it was still weird to wrap his head around. The loud conversations from his teammates broke Yuta from his thoughts. Yuta sighed and pulled out his dinner, another perk of being a professional soccer player meant getting personal chefs that prepared meals for you every day. Yuta himself was lucky enough that his teammate and Manchester City star Kevin de Bruyne managed to convince his own personal chef to cook for Yuta as well, this chef boasted two Michelin stars and cooked for soccer stars such as Jordan Pickford, John Terry, and many more. Even though Yuta had to pay for the chef with his own money the salary he got as a Man City player was certainly big enough to cover it, even if he wasn’t a starter or a star player. Yuta knew that none of the players were allowed to leave without getting their cool down massage and debated whether or not he should eat dinner now or wait, Yuta eyed the plastic Tupperware that held his dinner and decided he would wait. Yuta knew he shouldn’t, knew that his personalized meal plans were created meticulously with the exact right amount of food, calories, and ingredients to keep him at the top of his form but Yuta also knew how much Sicheng loved the food Yuta’s chef cooked for him and decided it would be worth it to share. Yuta and Sicheng hadn’t had dinner in a long time… Yuta found himself willing the other players to finish their massage so he could get his and go home. 

~

Yuta first got a lot of recognition for his soccer skills in high school. He began getting a lot of emails and scholarship offers from colleges in Japan, even a couple in China and Korea. Yuta never really figured he’d leave Japan, he figured he’d play soccer at a local Japanese college, maybe if he was good enough get offers to play for a team in the J1 league, that all changed when he got a full ride offer to play soccer for SM University. Not only was SMU one of the best soccer schools in Korea, but it would also help Yuta to improve his language skills, something that would certainly help him out no matter what course of action he decided to take in life, the full ride didn’t hurt either. And so Yuta had some long discussions with his parents and later that year he packed his bags and left for Korea.

~

“Hey Yuta, some friends from my music class invited me to hang out, do you wanna come with?” Taeil was Yuta’s roommate and he was a little weird, also he was pretty shy, and so Yuta wasn’t going to lie and say he wasn’t a little offended that Taeil had managed to make friends before him. Yuta figured that since he was on the soccer team that he would be able to make friends first, but even though Yuta got along well with his teammates he wasn’t exceptionally close to any of them, his teammates struggled to understand Yuta’s Japanese accent and his different mannerisms were a little off putting to them.  
“Em… I don’t know, I have practice later-”  
“Yuta, you have practice at 4, it’s literally 11 right now, you have time to spare. Come on, lets go. You need to get out and socialize more, I refuse to let myself be your only friend, as flattering as it may be” Yuta sighed in resignation and gathered his wallet and shoes before following Taeil out the door.  
Taeil’s friends were nice and they were all music majors as well. Johnny and Mark were both really welcoming and Yuta was surprised to find out that Jaehyun was friends with them too, Jaehyun and Yuta had become good friends in their English class. Even though Yuta didn’t share any classes with them, aside from Jaehyun, he found himself growing closer to the friend group as the school year went on and as he got more adapted to life in Korea he began making friends of his own.

It was a rainy Wednesday in November and Yuta found Johnny and Taeil making plans in the group chat to go try a new restaurant that had just opened. Yuta really wasn’t certain about whether or not he wanted to go but since soccer season had recently ended he figured he’d tag along since he had nothing else to do.  
“Are you going tonight?” Yuta looked up from his bed, he didn’t even notice that Taeil was back from his class.  
“I figure I might as well, I don’t really have anything else to do”  
“Ok, Jaehyun said he’s bringing a new guy along, apparently they have a dance class together” Yuta didn’t really care about who Jaehyun brought, he just wanted to eat.

Yuta found himself seated next to Johnny and Taeil, Mark was sitting across from them and was busy recounting some dumb story about Johnny. Yuta was zoning out, he just wanted Jaehyun and his friend to arrive, according to Mark and Johnny it was rude to order without everyone being there. Yuta found himself irritated and angry at Jaehyun for being late, Yuta just really wanted to eat, which he realized was a lot to ask for despite being at a restaurant. Yuta was watching the rain through the window when he noticed two figures rushing in. God I hope it’s them. I’m starving!  
“Hey guys, sorry we’re late, we got lost and-” Yuta looked up at the sudden noise and noticed a tall and slim boy standing awkwardly next to Jaehyun, the boy had pretty almond eyes and even from the distance Yuta could see long dark eyelashes. Yuta really wasn’t one to stare and found staring quite rude, but the boy also had a really pretty nose, and his lips were really plump and full and Yuta couldn’t not stare at him. All together the boy was really handsome and yet for some reason unbeknownst to him Yuta could only find himself thinking of the boy as cute.  
“This is Sicheng, he’s the dance instructor in my Ballet class” Jaehyun explained while sitting down next to Mark, Sicheng sat at the end of the booth directly opposite from Yuta. Yuta was shocked that Sicheng was a teacher, he didn’t look like he was older than Yuta, in fact he looked younger? It seemed Yuta was not the only one confused about Sicheng’s age as Mark, Johnny and Taeil all raised their eyebrows at the statement, none of them pursued it further though. They all placed their orders and talked while waiting, it turned out that Sicheng was from China and this was his first year living in Korea as well. The conversation had halted for a bit before Sicheng excused himself to the bathroom. As soon as Sicheng disappeared behind the bathroom doors Johnny turned to Jaehyun and asked the question that they had all been wondering.  
“How is he your teacher? He looks no older than 20?” Jaehyun looked a little taken aback at Johnny’s sudden outburst but glanced quickly towards the bathroom doors before starting to speak.  
“God, his life story is so cool. So you’re right, he is really young, he’s a couple months younger than me, his birthday was actually just about a week ago I think. So anyway, he’s learned and studied Chinese traditional dance his entire life, and he was really good at it too. He got accepted into four of China’s top universities for dance and studied at the most prestigious school there. He ranked first in traditional dance as well. Isn’t that so cool? So anyhow, he gets into China’s top university for performing arts and he’s studying to be a dancer. One day he’d been practicing really hard for a showcase he had and he accidentally slipped when he was doing a tumble and tore his ACL and his tendon.” Yuta took a sharp intake of breath, he had barely met the guy yet he felt so remorseful for him, as a soccer player he knew just how bad knee injuries were. Jaehyun took a deep breath before continuing.  
“He had to stop dancing, he was ranked one of the best in China too, it’s sad. He went through a slump apparently, lost all motivation and purpose in life, god I can’t even imagine. Anyway, even though he had to give up dancing he was still really famous and well known among the dancing community worldwide and so he got offers to teach or mentor from institutes and places around the world. So I guess that SMU gave him the best offer or something because he ended up here. It’s so weird getting taught by someone who’s younger than you, but he’s so sweet about it. I’ve heard that a lot of dancers are hard asses about this kind of stuff but he’s just so nice and kind about everything, even when he’s been through so much” Yuta felt a lump in his throat, he couldn’t even imagine having to stop playing soccer, he couldn’t imagine not being able to play and then going and teaching and seeing other people being able to play, that sounded like hell. Yuta really admired Sicheng, he really admired Sicheng’s bravery and strength too, apparently he wasn’t the only one.  
“Wow, that must’ve been so tough, that’s really cool of him. You know? Really cool how he decided to teach even though he went through that” Taeil remarked, Jaehyun nodded before continuing.  
“Yeah, he really is the most amazing person. I know you guys just met him but what do you think of him? He’s really so sweet, and kind, and cute, and God I just really like him, I really want to ask him out. He’s been the most helpful person too, I swear like I’m so bad at ballet, like I’m not flexible at all and not graceful and yet he’s been so patient and kind about everything and I just really, really like him” Jaehyun was interrupted by the arrival of their food and before anyone could comment on Sicheng, the boy in question had left the bathroom and started walking back to their table.  
“I’m so sorry, has the food been here long? You guy’s really shouldn’t have waited for me” Sicheng looked apologetically around the table. He really is so cute. The rest of the table quickly assured Sicheng that the food had just arrived and that they really didn’t wait for him at all, Sicheng looked relieved. They were all digging into their food and were deep in conversation. Yuta and Sicheng both got along exceptionally well, they had spent the entire time basically in their own conversation, they had talked about everything and Yuta began to understand why Jaehyun liked this boy so much. Yuta and Sicheng both were foreigners and Sicheng struggled sometimes while speaking Korean, Yuta knew the feeling well and wanted nothing more than to help him. The dinner had ended and Yuta found himself walking back towards his car with the group. Yuta and Sicheng had exchanged numbers sometime during dinner and now Sicheng was busy conversing and exchanging numbers with Mark, Johnny, and Taeil. Jaehyun had pulled Yuta away from the group and glanced back to make sure that the group couldn’t overhear before speaking.  
“So you guys got along really well, what do you think of him? Do you think I could ask him out, do you think he’d say yes?” Jaehyun kept glancing back towards Sicheng to make sure they were out of earshot, Yuta chuckled.  
“Jaehyun, he’s perfect, you’re right he is really sweet and kind. And if you like him that much you should obviously ask him out, also if you don’t I think Taeil will” both of the boys chuckled as they noticed Taeil clinging onto an obviously uncomfortable Sicheng. Yuta and Jaehyun rejoined the boys by the car and conversed for a little while longer before Jaehyun announced he needed to leave so he could finish some homework. Yuta ignored the slight twinge of jealousy he felt when he watched Sicheng climb into the passengers seat of Jaehyun’s car before they drove off. That night Yuta looked up at class options for next semester and wondered if he could squeeze a dance class into his schedule.

~

Jaehyun and Sicheng began to date midway through December, Yuta couldn’t remember ever seeing Jaehyun so happy in the short period of time he’d known him. Yuta and Sicheng also grew really close, over the past month they had really bonded and Yuta thought of Sicheng as his closest friend. Yuta, and everyone really, grew to adore Sicheng and it wasn’t uncommon for them to dote on him and take care of him. Just last week Sicheng had come down with a small cold and Yuta, Mark, Taeil and Johnny had all shown up at his apartment with soup, tea, medicine, and blankets. An exasperated Jaehyun had answered the door and they had all rushed in demanding that Sicheng have some tea or medicine before Jaehyun could even try and turn them away. As it turns out Sicheng was fast asleep in his bed, Yuta’s breath caught in his throat at the sight. Sicheng’s head barely poked out of the blanket and his hair was messed up from his sleep, he truly was a sight to behold. Yuta was awestruck as he admired Sicheng’s sleeping form, or he was until Jaehyun climbed underneath the covers and cuddled Sicheng, Yuta had never felt so much contempt for a person in his life.  
“Thank you guys for everything, I’ll make sure he gets it all once he wakes up. You guys can let yourselves out right?” Jaehyun spoke in a hushed whisper and repeatedly looked at Sicheng to make sure he didn’t wake up. Ignoring the slight ache in his chest and ignoring Mark and Johnny’s whispers about how cute of a couple they were Yuta followed the rest of the group out the door, shutting it quietly behind him. 

 

~

It was a cold morning in January when Yuta got a call from his soccer coach about scheduling a meeting, Yuta really had no idea what it was about and truthfully he was a little nervous. They can’t be cutting me from the team can they? What else could they want to talk about though? And so with trembling hands Yuta ended the call and contemplated what the meeting could be for. Yuta knew he was overreacting, but he could not for the life of him think about any purpose for this meeting other than the fact that he had gotten in some kind of trouble with the team.  
Yuta had spent the last three days as a nervous wreck, he had dedicated his whole life to soccer, he was here at this school with a full ride because of soccer, what was he supposed to do if that got taken away? Yuta took a deep breath as he looked up at the athletics building before opening the door and heading inside. Yuta couldn’t stop the trembling of his hands as he knocked on the door and winced when he heard his coach tell him to go in. Well, here goes nothing.

The meeting was nothing like what Yuta had expected, one of the staff members at K.R.C Genk, a team in the Belgian first division A league, had seen a couple of his performances in high school and college and was interested in signing him on a reserve. To say the very least, Yuta was ecstatic. Truthfully, a soccer league in Belgium was most definitely not one where you would see world class players, but it was most definitely a start for Yuta to get the professional career he’d dreamed about. Come to think of it, Kevin de Bruyne, considered to be one of the best midfielders in the world and Manchester City extraordinaire had gotten his start playing at Genk as well. Yuta could barely contain his excitement as he exchanged numbers with the manager, after thanking them again Yuta rushed out of the office and called the one person he wanted to celebrate with most, Sicheng. 

~

Yuta looked anxiously around the cafe, where is he? Just as he was about to pull out his phone and text Sicheng a gust of cold air and the chiming of the door let Yuta know that someone had entered, Sicheng. Yuta glanced up at the newcomer and a smile graced his face as he saw Sicheng looking back at him. Sicheng was bundled in a winter coat, his cheeks were tinted pink from the cold and his cheeks and eyes barely peeked out from the red scarf he’d wrapped around his face and neck. Cute  
“So what is it? What did you want to tell me so badly?” Sicheng asked as he sat down and began removing his scarf and coat. Yuta had been so distracted by Sicheng that it took him a couple seconds to recollect what he’d wanted to say in the first place. Yuta cleared his throat before speaking  
“Well, you know I play soccer for our university team right? Apparently my coach had sent some of my highlight videos to some small leagues and clubs and a club in Belgium contacted me and made an offer! Of course I’m only signing on as a reserve but this is huge, its everything I’ve ever wanted! Obviously it’s not anything like the Bundesliga or the Premier League but I’m actually going to be a professional soccer player and this is a start in the right direction to moving into bigger leagues if a play well! Oh my god I still can’t believe it”  
“Yuta thats amazing! I’m so happy for you!” Sicheng exclaimed before moving around the table to hug Yuta. Yuta couldn’t help but inhale the scent of oranges and vanilla as he embraced Sicheng tightly. Holding Sicheng in his arms combined with the earlier news made Yuta feel as if he was the luckiest man in the world and he wanted to remain in this moment forever.  
“Yuta, congratulations, really, I’m so proud of you” Yuta’s grip tightened, how could he be so lucky to meet someone so kind and caring? Sicheng had every cause to be resentful and angry right now, Sicheng was on the brink of achieving his dream before it all got taken away from him, and yet Sicheng had nothing but happiness and pride for Yuta.  
“Does this mean you’re moving to Belgium?” Yuta felt his grip loosen, he hadn’t thought about that part yet. Suddenly all of his previous happiness vanished as he thought about having to leave Sicheng.  
“Uh— yeah I hadn’t erm,,, actually thought about that part yet. But yeah I guess” Sicheng withdrew from Yuta’s embrace before moving to sit back down. He observed Yuta quietly for a couple moments, seemingly debating what to say, he seemed less happy than he had a couple moments before as well.  
“Yuta, this is your dream, you’ve dedicated your entire life to it. I know it’s hard moving away from all of your friends and family, especially considering you already had to go through it when you moved to Korea. It may seem really scary leaving behind everything you’ve ever known but Yuta, you’ve dedicated your entire life to this. This is your dream, and god Yuta you’re so close, so close to achieving what you’ve worked so hard for. I know how scary it is, but take it from me, if you have the chance you should take it before you ever lose it, you’ll only spend the rest of your life in regret wondering what could’ve been. Even if it doesn’t work out or if it isn’t what you thought it would be at least you know that you tried and gave it everything you had.” Sicheng took a deep breath and before speaking again “Yuta, I was so close to my achieving my dream, losing it ruined me, I lost myself for months before I managed to pick myself back up. To this day I regret it, I regret not listening to my body, for overworking myself, for not taking a break, I regret it constantly, take it from me, you don’t want to experience these regrets. I really think you should go for it Yuta, this could be everything you’ve ever wanted” This time it was Yuta’s turn to embrace Sicheng, and as he held Sicheng in his arms he couldn’t help but think, well this dream wasn’t everything he had ever wanted. They remained like that for a couple moments, locked in each others embrace before Sicheng spoke again  
“You know they speak like four languages in Belgium right?”  
“Shut it” Yuta replied, he actually did not know that, how was he supposed to learn four languages before he moved there?


	2. In the Pursuit of Success

Yuta sat down in the locker room and began removing his cleats. He watched one of his teammates limp off into the medical room, they had rolled their ankle during practice and needed to get it checked. Yuta had no why they waited to the end of practice to check it out, that would only make it worse. Yuta sighed and looked around the locker room, he had played for K.R.C Genk for a little under a year and had moved up the ranks quickly. During one important match a couple players had gotten injured so Yuta was called in to sub, he was insanely nervous but ended up giving two assists to their top striker which resulted in a victory for Genk. Two of the injured players were not able to play in the next match and usually the coach would go for the other substitutes but instead he decided to put Yuta in the starting lineup. Yuta was shocked to say the least, and extremely nervous, this was a home game and Yuta had no idea how the crowd would favor an unknown substitute starting over some of the more popular players. That game Yuta had one crossbar assist and even scored a goal, resulting in a 2-0 victory over one of Genk’s top rivals. From that game on Yuta was a permanent starter. 

~

During the off season Yuta had flown back to Japan to spend some time with his family, apparently he had made quite the name for himself back home. Obviously he wasn’t anywhere near as popular as players like Maya Yoshida, Shinji Kagawa, or Keisuke Honda, but apparently people had taken an interest in the young Japanese player who was a starter in European soccer leagues. Yuta had enjoyed the weeks he got to spend with his family but he was anxious the entire time, he knew the one person he wanted to see the most was now closer to Yuta than he’d been in the past year, the person who he’d really flown halfway around the world for, Sicheng. It was Sicheng who still occupied Yuta’s mind late at night when he couldn’t sleep, it was Sicheng who Yuta wished was in the stands cheering him on when he’d scored a goal, it was Sicheng who’s name Yuta would moan late at night when he would cover his sheets with white, everything always led back to Sicheng. Yuta had booked tickets to Korea as soon as he’d heard about his off season, and Yuta knew that at such a young age he should be spending every second of free time practicing but he couldn’t, his mind was focused on one thing, one person. 

~

“Yuta! Yuta over here!” Johnny’s excited shouts caught Yuta’s attention seconds before he was embraced in a bone-crushing hug “Oh my god, we’ve missed you so much! You’re doing so good in Belgium though, Taeil and I have seen a couple of your games, I can’t believe I never knew you were that good! How have you been, do you even have any time to do anything outside of soccer? Apparently you haven’t had enough time to keep in touch-” Johnny was rambling but Yuta didn’t care, he wouldn’t admit it to them but he did miss all of his friends terribly when he was in Europe. “Come on let’s get your suitcase and then I can show you the new apartment Taeil and I bought, its super cool considering the price” Yuta had tuned Johnny out as he pulled out his phone and noticed he had a new text message. Sicheng.  
“Hey, did you land yet? We should catch up, it’s been to long” Yuta read the message, and then reread it, he didn’t even notice that Johnny had already grabbed his suitcase and was walking towards the car. Yuta typed out a quick response and waited anxiously for a reply. The buzz of his phone signaled Sicheng’s quick response.   
“I’m free right now at my apartment if you want to hang out?” That was all it took for Yuta to turn to Johnny and ask if he could get dropped off at Sicheng’s. Johnny looked a little flustered when Yuta asked him if he could go to Sicheng’s but he quickly recovered  
“Yeah, that actually works out better I think, erm I can take your suitcase and get your room made ready for you and then um I can pick you and Sicheng up later?” Yuta wasn’t dumb he could tell that Johnny was obviously planning a surprise party for him and was looking for an excuse to get Yuta away from the apartment. Yuta thanked Johnny before they pulled up to a familiar apartment building, his heart raced in his chest as he entered the lobby. Yuta couldn’t contain his excitement as the elevator finally reached the 3rd floor, his hands were sweating as he finally approached the familiar door. Yuta took a couple deep breaths before reaching his hand up to knock-  
“Yuta! Oh my god I’ve missed you so much” The door flung open just as Yuta was about to knock and he was embraced in a warm hug and enveloped in the familiar tantalizing smell of oranges and vanilla. Yuta and Sicheng remained in each other’s embrace for a little while longer before Sicheng pulled away and invited him in, everything looked just how Yuta remembered. Sicheng looked more beautiful than ever, he had died his hair a light pink color which looked a lot better on him than it should’ve and Yuta could’ve sworn Sicheng was a little taller than he’d remembered. As much as Sicheng had changed he was the same as well, he still carried himself with an impeccable amount of grace only a dancer could obtain, he still had the cutest cheeks and the cutest smile with a barely there dimple, he still took Yuta’s breath away.   
“3” Yuta said, a look of confusion crossed Sicheng’s features, Yuta smiled before elaborating “Before I left you said that ‘they speak like 4 languages in Belgium’ well they speak 3 languages officially and for soccer we speak in English because it’s easier” Sicheng still looked confused before I smile graced his face  
“I— cannot believe that after a year apart that the first you want to tell me is essentially ‘an I told you so’” Yuta grinned as Sicheng burst into laughter. He missed this. “Anyway, tell me all about it, how’s Europe, I heard your a starter now, congrats!” Yuta had heard this praise from countless people over the past couple weeks, his family, and old friends and acquaintances, but nothing quite compared to hearing it from Sicheng. 

Yuta and Sicheng chatted for hours, Yuta telling Sicheng about his teammates and how different Belgium was from Korea and Japan, and Sicheng telling Yuta about how he’d been promoted to the head teacher at SMU.  
“Oh I just remembered, I brought you back some stuff but it’s in my suitcase so I’ll need to give it to you once we’re at Johnny and Taeil’s place” Sicheng looked at his phone  
“Oh sh- uhm speaking of Johnny and Taeil we should probably head over there. You’re smart and have probably figured out they’re throwing a surprise party but just act surprised when we get there” Yuta chuckled and after reassuring Sicheng he would indeed try to act like he had no idea of the party him and Sicheng left.   
~  
The party was a lot better than Yuta had expected, and he did try and act surprised as he’d promised, Yuta had stayed close to Sicheng the entire time, he really couldn’t get enough of him. Sicheng and Yuta had been in their own little bubble and had chatted between themselves for hours now, only adding on to their long conversations from earlier.  
“Wait— I just remembered, your gifts, come with me” Yuta grabbed Sicheng’s hand and led him to the guest bedroom. Yuta grabbed his suitcase and rummaged though it before finding what he was looking for, a box he had filled with Belgian chocolates, waffles, and candy. Yuta knew how much Sicheng loved sweets and, while it was impossible to bring Sicheng back some of that amazing ice cream from “Gaston” that came served with waffles (Yuta would argue that this place had the best ice cream in Belgium hands down), he could bring Sicheng back candy’s and sweets.   
“So those right there are Stroopwafels, they’re two thin layers of waffle wafers that have caramel between them, you traditionally eat them by putting them over a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and the steam from that melts the caramel and makes it soft. These cookies are called Speculoos, I don’t know how to describe them but they’re really good and they even have something called Speculoospasta which is a spread for sandwiches and bread, I brought you a jar it’s in here somewhere” Yuta was rambling, he was nervous. What if Sicheng didn’t like the gifts or, what if Sicheng found it weird that Yuta brought back stuff for him but not anyone else?   
“Yuta, thank you. Really, you didn’t have too” Sicheng gave Yuta a sincere smile in gratitude and Yuta felt his knees go just the slightest bit weak. Yuta smiled as he saw Sicheng’s face light up when he took the first bite off chocolate, he really is way to cute  
“Yuta, this is really good, oh my god you’re so lucky to live in Belgium where you can get this all the time” Yuta really couldn’t stop smiling, all of his previous worries had vanished as soon as Sicheng smiled.  
“Hey babe, I’ve been looking everywhere for you” Yuta’s smile vanished, he’d forgotten about Jaehyun. As he watched Jaehyun wrap an arm around Sicheng’s waist Yuta had never wanted to disappear more. Yuta forced himself to smile at Jaehyun and exchange greetings, no matter how much he resented Jaehyun he couldn’t forget that they were best friends last year. 

~

Yuta was back on the flight to Brussels, the week had been enjoyable, Johnny and Taeil were really good hosts but Yuta really couldn’t find it in him to truly enjoy the week as much as he could’ve. No matter where he looked during the past week it seemed like Sicheng and Jaehyun were there, he couldn’t escape. To say the least Yuta was anxious to get back on the field, nothing got rid of his frustrations and worries quite like soccer did. The plane ride seemed to drag on forever and once he’d landed in Brussels Yuta was relieved to be back in the place he was starting to call home. Yuta was waiting to pick up his luggage when his phone rang, it was his manager. What could he want?   
“Yuta, I’ve been in contact with one of the managers for Manchester City, they’d like to set up a transfer with you and one of their players, can you come down to my office tomorrow before practice so we can talk?” Yuta contained his excitement as he spoke with his coach for a little while longer before hanging up to grab his suitcase. Yuta couldn’t believe it, this was beyond any of his wildest dreams, he never would’ve thought that ANY league in the premier league would ever be interested in signing him. Yuta hailed a cab and resisted texting Sicheng the good news, he wouldn’t tell Sicheng until it was absolutely certain. 

~

Yuta packed up his gear from the locker room for the last time, he had signed his transfer deal with Manchester City last week, he had signed a 3 year deal for 8 million euros, it was up to him to prove wether or not he was worth more and worth keeping. His teammates had all congratulated him for making it to the big leagues and said that they were going to miss his talent, looking back Yuta still couldn’t believe how much he had improved over the past year, from going to a reserve to one of the star players Yuta still couldn’t quite get a grasp on the situation. Yuta finished cleaning out of his locker and bid all of his teammates one last farewell, Yuta had grown really close to all them and he really hoped that he’d get to play with them again someday. Yuta picked up his phone to send a quick text to his parents when he noticed that he was receiving a call. Jaehyun. Yuta really couldn’t fathom why Jaehyun would be calling him, unless there was some kind of emergency, truthfully Yuta had drifted apart from his past friends, Jaehyun especially, the only person Yuta really avidly kept in touch with was Sicheng. Yuta hesitated for a moment before answering the call.  
“Yuta? Hey so I hate to just rush to the point here but I heard that you signed on to play for a club in England recently, which… is really cool, congrats man. Anyway, um so Sicheng was approached with a job offer to help teach at a really prestige dance company in England, it’s a really huge job offer and he really wants to take it, I’ve tried to talk him into staying but he’s set on going and really wants to do this, So uhm, I was wondering, since you guys are both going to be in England if you could take care of him and look after him, I’m just super worried about him being so far away and I know how close you two are-”  
“Jaehyun, don’t worry of course I’ll help keep an eye on him, tell him congrats about the job offer by the way I’m proud of him” Yuta tried to keep his voice as neutral as possible, he couldn’t risk Jaehyun finding out his feelings for Sicheng. As Yuta hung up the call and began his drive home he couldn’t help but feel like for the first time in his life every single thing was going perfectly.


	3. In the Pursuit of Love

Yuta was snapped out of his flashbacks when one of his teammates called his name, it was his turn to get massaged. Yuta sighed once more as he eyed the containers of food before deciding that yes, he would share dinner with Sicheng tonight and then tomorrow he’d call his chef and talk to him about having him cook for Sicheng as well, lord knows he’s too skinny. Yuta put his dinner in his duffel bag before leaving with some of his other teammates to the medical room. Yuta knew how important these massages were, especially for professional athletes but he really, really just wanted to get back to the apartment. 

Being a professional soccer player was tough, being a professional soccer player in the premiere league was tougher. Yuta had to deal with vigorous training sessions all meant to target speed, agility, strength, and skills three days a week, he had games either on Saturday or Sunday, he had to stick to a strict diet and on his off-days he was expected to work out in the gym to target his muscles further. Three months ago the manager of the Japanese soccer team had contacted him and asked him if he would be interested in signing on to play nationally, Yuta had said yes, playing for his country was one of the biggest honors he could receive. Yuta knew how so many of his teammates had to give up their personal life to play soccer, one of his teammates talked about how last year he only got to spend 12 nights out of the entire year with his wife, Yuta had promised himself that he wouldn’t be like that, would quit before his personal life was on the line. Once Yuta had started playing for both the Premier League and for Japan he realized how difficult sticking to that statement was. Yuta had to fly back and forth constantly for practices, and friendlies between countries took up many of the free days he’d once had. Yuta of course did realize the importance of practicing with the national team and playing in friendlies, look at Poland or Germany for example. Poland didn’t play any friendlies for almost a year before the 2018 World Cup and despite being really high on the FIFA World Ranking one could see by their performance that they had a lack of teamwork from not playing together, it was no wonder they didn’t make it past the group stage. The same with Germany, they didn’t practice together enough post 2014 world cup to get a good rhythm and teamwork down, and while they had the best teamwork by far in 2014 everyone knows how 2018 was an embarrassment for them. So Yuta endured, he hated flying between Japan and England constantly and hated the toll it took on his body but he knew that it was worth it. Along with his salary for playing in the Premier League Yuta had also picked up a lot of endorsements, mainly in Japan, and was making an average of 14 million euros a year now, he had saved most of it though, he wanted to be able to provide for Sicheng and take care of him in the future. Yuta had thought about what he would do when his three year contract ended, he was one year into it and while he loved every second he played, he loved the hard work, the practices, the celebrations, he also loved Sicheng, and he missed spending time with him. Yuta had bought a fancy expensive apartment once he’d moved to Manchester and he’d offered Sicheng the option of moving in with him, Sicheng had gratefully accepted. Yuta knew that even though Sicheng worked long 10 hour days of teaching, sometimes even longer, that his salary wouldn’t be very substantial despite working at a good company, living in a big city like Manchester was expensive too and helping Sicheng out was the least Yuta could do. Sicheng and Yuta had been living together for about 10 months now and Yuta still hadn’t told Sicheng how he felt, his subconscious always holding him back. One night a couple months ago the air conditioning unit in Sicheng’s room had broken and Sicheng had quietly slipped into Yuta’s bed with him, Yuta had woken up to Sicheng sleeping on his chest and nothing in the world could’ve amounted to that feeling. Yuta put off fixing the air conditioning a lot longer than he should have, it took two months before he figured Sicheng would get suspicious and before he called the company. Yuta still had to sleep alone when he was in Japan or at away games for Manchester but that night after the air conditioning got fixed Yuta found sleeping alone in his apartment weird and unusual. Yuta had tossed and turned for hours before it was his turn to slip into Sicheng’s room, since that night whenever they were both in the apartment they had slept in the same room together. Sicheng had broken up with Jaehyun before he’d left for England and while Yuta’s heart had soared upon hearing the news it quickly turned sour when a drunk Sicheng professed one night about how happy he was to be single and how he really just needed time to himself and to figure out who he was supposed to be.   
“Yuta? Yuta hey uh… you’re good to go” Yuta was snapped out of his thoughts for the thousandth time that night. He smiled in gratitude to the masseuse before exiting the building and beginning the drive home. 

Yuta smiled as he opened the door to the apartment and noticed Sicheng was home already and was scrolling through his phone  
“Hey, I brought back dinner” Yuta couldn’t even finish his sentence before Sicheng had bounded over to inspect the food. Yuta smiled at Sicheng’s delighted expression. He really is just a big child. As Yuta watched Sicheng head into the kitchen to grab some plates and silverware he couldn’t help but marvel at the domesticity of this, he loved this. 

Dinner was great although Yuta was a little hungry from only eating half of a meal, he didn’t care though, it was worth sharing to see Sicheng’s eyes light up with every bite of food. Sicheng was currently in the bathroom, Yuta had just finished and was in bed waiting for Sicheng to finish so they could go to sleep. Once again Yuta was struck by how domestic this was, the sound of a door opening broke Yuta’s thoughts. Yuta moved over so there was more room for Sicheng and openly stared at him. The moonlight cast a silver glow upon Sicheng, he looked ethereal, he was other worldly, he was absolute perfection. Sicheng had no sooner laid down in bed before Yuta was reaching out to touch him, he couldn’t help himself. Yuta cupped Sicheng’s cheek and softly rubbed it for a couple moments, Sicheng looked a little taken aback but quickly got used to what Yuta was doing. Yuta just remained there, admiring Sicheng for a couple moments more before brushing a few stray strands of hair away from Sicheng’s face. He really is so beautiful. Yuta hesitated for a second before leaning to place a soft kiss on Sicheng’s forehead, he pulled back and they made eye contact for a couple seconds before Yuta leaned to place some kisses on the tip of his nose and cheeks. Yuta began to pepper kisses all over the younger’s face and neck before moving back, they made eye contact once more, Yuta silently asking permission before slowly moving in to capture Sicheng’s lips. The kiss was soft, moving with the slightest of friction, faces slanted to add only the slightest bit of pressure. The kiss feels so surreal, from every movement of their lips to every brush of the tongue. Yuta leads the kiss, he sets a quicker pace and their mouths move together with an unfurling pressure. Somewhere in the back of his mind Yuta registers Sicheng’s arms wrapping around his neck but he doesn’t pay any attention as his whole body is consumed with electricity, his senses reduced to a blur and dull of white noise, all he can focus on is kissing Sicheng. The kiss only builds, Yuta is pulling Sicheng close to him until their bodies are pressed flush against each other, Yuta registered the white hot feeling of Sicheng’s fingers digging into his back. There’s something about the kiss that is desperate, all of the sweetness and uncertainty from moments before had disappeared. Yuta pulls away to leave hot open-mouthed kisses along Sicheng’s neck and collar bones, leaving soft bite’s before licking them away. Yuta moves back up to his face and leaves a trail of kisses from Sicheng’s jaw to the corner of his lips. Sicheng tugs at Yuta’s hair desperate to reconnect their lips, Yuta teases Sicheng for a couple moments more before connecting their lips. Yuta feels a small moan of satisfaction vibrate against his lips. Everything is reduced to a blur all Yuta can think of is Sicheng, Sicheng, Sicheng. Sicheng’s lips match Yuta’s movements, both of them desperate for more. Yuta pulls away slightly to catch his breath, when he dips down again he finds a hand pushing slightly against his chest signaling him to stop, his heart sinks.   
“Yuta I think we should talk” Yuta can feel his heart breaking even more, taking a deep breath to recollect himself he nods before moving to sit beside Sicheng. Sicheng seemed nervous and fiddled with his hands before opening his mouth to speak  
“Yuta, I broke up with Jaehyun because I wanted to find myself, over the period we were together I became too reliable on him and I didn’t know how to do things for myself anymore, I was scared that if I stayed with him I would never be able to figure myself out. After my injury I lost a part of me and I never got to figure out how to fix that part of myself because I’d spent the months post-injury in denial, and then as soon as I’d accepted it I rushed straight into a teaching job and a relationship. When the opportunity came to move to a new country and a new job I knew that this was the chance I needed to figure out who I was, how to take care of and rely on myself. I felt guilty about breaking things off with Jaehyun but I realized I didn’t have as much remorse as I should’ve” Sicheng stopped to take a shaky breath before turning to meet Yuta’s eyes once more “Of course moving to a foreign country and living with your best friend in his apartment wasn’t exactly the best opportunity to learn how to rely on myself,  
but you’ve been gone so much it ended up working out. Jaehyun texted me last week, he wanted to talk and wanted to see if I’d found the pieces of myself I was looking for, and I realized I didn’t want to see him, I wanted to see you. I don’t know when it happened but somewhere along the way I found pieces of myself I didn’t know existed and once I could truly focus and learn about myself I realized that I never loved Jaehyun but somehow throughout these past couple months I’ve started to fall in love with you” Yuta couldn’t believe it, the words Sicheng had just whispered rang in his ears. Yuta moved forward to capture Sicheng’s lips in a soft, gentle kiss before pulling back. He met Sicheng’s eyes before speaking  
“Sicheng, I’ve been in love with you too, for the longest time, truthfully you moving in with me was a blessing in disguise, I saw it as my chance to finally get you to be mine. These past two years have been hell for me, I was so in love with you but I always thought that you and Jaehyun were going to be together forever. God, you don’t know how long I’ve waited to hear those words, to be able to say it back to you, god I love you so much. So much” And Sicheng and Yuta were kissing again, whispering soft ‘I love you’s’ to each other in between kisses. Yuta moved to lay down and pulled Sicheng to his chest. 

~  
Yuta woke up and admired the soft sunlight illuminating the sleeping boy on his chest. They had officially been together for three months now and every moment spent together was pure bliss. Them getting together had led to a falling out between Jaehyun and Yuta, Jaehyun couldn’t believe Yuta had done that to him, and Yuta couldn’t blame him, but it was impossible not to be head over heels for Sicheng, impossible not to want to keep him solely to yourself. Taeil, Johnny, and Mark had all disproved of Yuta but they had warmed back up to Yuta and Sicheng eventually. It was a struggle making their relationship work at first, both of them had extremely busy schedules and couldn’t see each other as much as they’d wanted to. Yuta had subconsciously made the decision that he wasn’t going to renew his contract with Manchester. He knew he’d be letting fans down and that he’d be called an idiot for stopping soccer so early in his career, but Yuta had also seen the arguments between his teammates and their wives and girlfriends, he’d seen his teammates cheat on their partners and vice versa. While not as often talked about as celebrity or idol life was, being an athlete was just as costly to one’s personal life, athletes got all of the attention, articles, and vicious rumors spread about them as well and all of the time spent away from home took serious tolls on a relationship. Yuta had seen firsthand some of his teammates relationships shatter and how they’d been told ‘it’s just the cost of a professional soccer career’ and Yuta didn’t think he could ever stand losing Sicheng in that manner, hell he couldn’t stand losing Sicheng at all. Yuta knew he was going to work hard until his contract ended, he’d continue earning money and continue working with companies for ad endorsements to save up money for Sicheng’s and his future. Yuta and Sicheng hadn’t talked about their future yet but Yuta had dreams of moving to China or back to Japan, hell maybe even Belgium, and playing at a smaller league soccer club or even coaching, Sicheng could get a job teaching and they’d be away from the limelight and the stress. As Sicheng’s soft breaths fanned across Yuta’s chest he couldn’t help but marvel about this past year, no matter what the future brought Yuta knew he wanted to wake up to this every morning for the rest of his life if he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof this one was hard to write so I really hoped you enjoyed it (: Once again English is not my first language and I really want to improve to make both the writing and reading experience better for all of us so please, please, please let me know about any mistakes or improvements I could make, this is the second fan fic I've ever written so please give me any feedback on the plot or character development to help in the future as well. Once again I really hope you enjoyed it, and as a Belgian I had to throw in a couple shameless promotions about how good our team is and how good our food is so whoops (:


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